Only 32.7% of children aged 8-18 enjoy reading for pleasure in their free time, an all time low since 2005. Here’s how we can fix this.
The National Literacy Trust’s annual survey revealed that only 1-in-3 children ages 8-18 years old enjoy reading. This is the lowest it has been since 2005 but of course, we cannot blame the kids. So what is to blame?
The infiltration of screens into everyday life? A lack of parental involvement? Or is it the educational system failing these children?
The fact is, there is not one thing that can be blamed for this.
Studies show that children learn from their environment and mimic behaviour. Therefore, if a child sees their parents or someone else close to them reading, they are more likely to want to engage in the activity themselves.
Studies also show that by simply having at least one physical book in the household, children are nearly twice as likely to meet basic literacy and math standards than a child who has no books in the house.
Dr Kiesha Siriboe, the first African-American woman to earn a master’s degree from Beijing Normal University as well as the first to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong, discovered that Hong Kong had the lowest rates of engagement in early childhood literacy and coined the term ‘Connection Gap’. Dr. Siriboe found that the act of reading to your child creates a positive emotional environment for children that encourages them to seek out reading on their own terms later on.
Alice Reedy, a senior lecturer in the Department of Education, School of Childhood and Social Care at the University of East London, said: “Parents reading to their children is one of the most fundamental things they can do, in an educational context, for their children. Sometimes there just isn’t the time. It’s really important for us as educators to bridge the gap and send kids home with books they will enjoy.”
Helping your child learn to read and foster their love for reading is something that will also help with their cognitive development as there are morals within stories.
Technology is not inherently evil but giving an IPad or smart phone to a young child as their sole form of entertainment over books and physical toys leads to a lack of learning how to regulate emotions and harm to cognitive development. Excessive exposure to short form content creates shorter attention spans and Sky News reported in January 2026 that ⅓ of children try swiping on books like an IPad as they have not been taught how to turn the page.
Rogan Mills, an oral storyteller based across Chorley, Lancashire and the UK, said that his wife was a reception teacher and that you can tell which children have been exposed to books and reading at home when a new cohort of kids come in.
Reedy also conducted a child-led study investigating the factors that impact a child’s motivation to read in their free time and found that choice and agency were the biggest contributors. Reedy says that she instils in her students and UEL to ask the children what books they want and like to read as oftentimes the books available in the classroom are not necessarily the books these kids want to read.
Every skill needs practice and children learn from their environment. Even as little as 15 minutes each night before bed can do wonders for your child’s development.
